I needed to do some template routing today for some chair parts. Four legs,
1" oak, pretty beefy stuff. I got the piece of craftsman router table set
up, removed the fence, set the "safety" starting pin in the table (this one
screws in, btw) and proceded to rout the first 3 legs, with no mishaps or
issues to speak of.
I start the fourth leg, and halfway through, while focusing on the spinning
carbide (a practice I encourage), I notice that the steel, screw-in "safety"
starting pin is RATTLING AROUND ON THE TABLE! HOLY JAYSUS! Picking it up
isn't an option, I'm scared at this point, not stupid. I slam the off
switch (the only good feature of this table) and the wind down vibration of
the router (also a craftsman) is amplified by the wonderfully designed,
vibration-amplifying sheet steel of the table and the pin goes skittering
right into the bit.
Of all days to be wearing both my heavy leather apron and full face
lathe-shield, this day was probably the best. The pin rocketed off the bit
and, swear to god not making this up, plugs me smack dab in the middle of my
chest.
Shakes are going away now, this rant helped a bunch.
Be safe out there kiddies,
Joe
[email protected] wrote:
> On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 18:49:20 GMT, "Joe C" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>>I needed to do some template routing today for some chair parts. Four
>>legs,
>>1" oak, pretty beefy stuff. I got the piece of craftsman router table set
>>up, removed the fence, set the "safety" starting pin in the table (this
>>one screws in, btw) and proceded to rout the first 3 legs, with no mishaps
>>or issues to speak of.
>>
>>I start the fourth leg, and halfway through, while focusing on the
>>spinning carbide (a practice I encourage), I notice that the steel,
>>screw-in "safety"
>>starting pin is RATTLING AROUND ON THE TABLE! HOLY JAYSUS! Picking it up
>>isn't an option, I'm scared at this point, not stupid. I slam the off
>>switch (the only good feature of this table) and the wind down vibration
>>of the router (also a craftsman) is amplified by the wonderfully designed,
>>vibration-amplifying sheet steel of the table and the pin goes skittering
>>right into the bit.
>>
>>Of all days to be wearing both my heavy leather apron and full face
>>lathe-shield, this day was probably the best. The pin rocketed off the
>>bit and, swear to god not making this up, plugs me smack dab in the middle
>>of my chest.
>>
>>Shakes are going away now, this rant helped a bunch.
>>
>>Be safe out there kiddies,
>>
>>Joe
>>
>
>
> time to build a router table.
>
> a big one. heavy. no vibration. 2, mebbe 3 layers of MDF. laminate
> top.
>
>
> maybe a new router while you're at it.
I second that. I thought since my craftsman router worked that they would
be ok for beginner tools. Then I bought a real router and noticed how bad
the craftsman was. Took the craftsman and routed a scrap piece of wood
then took the same bit and put it in the PC and it made such a clean cut, I
couldn't believe the difference. The craftsman just does such a bad job at
routing that alone is enough to pass it by and mine was one of their higher
end models.
"Groggy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Aye. Methinks the Dwarves in Khazud Dhum mighta had a hand in it
too...'Tho
> I did get a pic via the back chunnel
>
A'yup. Me too.
Zipping it over to a buddy at the FBI lab to see if he can see any Adobe
Photoshop magic was applied!
I agree that Craftsman is fair game at any time, but this seems to be a
maintance problem more then a design problem. I have had the bearings on
several high end brand of router bits come off, due to my not checking them
between runs. Any thing that vibrates or spins should be checked every now
and then when being used .
"Mike Marlow" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Joe C" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I did have a push stick close at hand, despite doing large scale
template
> > routing at the time. Had it by my left hand which is good, since I'm a
> > lefty, but I would have had to reach over the bit with my left hand and
> the
> > stick to try to pin the thing which was on the (standard) right hand
side
> of
> > the bit.
> >
> > Besides, it all happened much faster than it took to type this ;-)
> >
> > When things go wrong, stop the steel (or carbide) first.
> >
>
> Hey Joe - I sure do not want to play resident expert-after-the-fact, but
> when I read your original post, a thought kept gnawing at me. Not to
> downplay any of the events or the scary nature of getting whacked in the
> chest by a flying projectile, but it seemed to me that the real issue was
> more of periodically checking your equipment - no matter who it's
> manufactured by, than it is a reflection of Craftsman quality. I could
see
> this happening on any table with a screw mount pin like your table has.
> Maybe a lock washer under the pin in the future to make sure vibrations
and
> the movements of the stock against it don't loosen it? Clearly this was a
> fortunate wakeup call, but I really have to wonder if Craftsman is taking
a
> bit more of a hit on this than they deserve. OK - I agree, (to some
> extent...) it's always fair game to hit on Craftsman, but...
> --
>
> -Mike-
> [email protected]
>
>
Thu, Jul 29, 2004, 3:07pm (EDT+4) [email protected]
(Sweet=A0Sawdust) says:
<snip> I have had the bearings on several high end brand of router bits
come off, due to my not checking them between runs. <snip>
I have found tha putting a drop or two of Marvel Mystery Oil (I
like the small - probably any oil would work - but NOT WD40) on the
bearing befor routing seems to make the bearing last a whole lot longer.
I have no hard "proof" of this, and I know the bearings are supposed to
be sealed, but seems to work, so I'm gonna keep on doing it.
JOAT
The highway of fear is the road to defeat.
- Bazooka Joe
JERUSALEM RIDGE http://www.banjer.com/midi/jerridge.mid
J T wrote:
> Thu, Jul 29, 2004, 3:07pm (EDT+4) [email protected]
> (Sweet Sawdust) says:
> <snip> I have had the bearings on several high end brand of router bits
> come off, due to my not checking them between runs. <snip>
>
> I have found tha putting a drop or two of Marvel Mystery Oil (I
> like the small - probably any oil would work - but NOT WD40) on the
> bearing befor routing seems to make the bearing last a whole lot longer.
> I have no hard "proof" of this, and I know the bearings are supposed to
> be sealed, but seems to work, so I'm gonna keep on doing it.
>
And when you pull the bit out of the drawer/case to use it next time,
you wipe off any extra oil and check tightness at the same time. Works
for me. :-)
mahalo,
jo4hn
Wed, Jul 28, 2004, 6:49pm (EDT+4) [email protected] (Joe=A0C) says:
<snip> set the "safety" starting pin in the table <snip>
OK, this is the part hat escaping me. In all my reading on router
tables, I don't recall "ever" reading any mention of any "safety pin".
I think my router table is sn it's 3d reincarnation now, and all I do on
it it pattern rout, or whatever you wan to term it. I've been thinking
about a "safety pin" since I started checking this thread, and I don't
see something sticking up on top of my router table doing anything oher
than hindering me. I use a template, or patter, in all this. Some
pieces are about a foot wide, up to close to four foot long. Other
pieces are considerably smaller. Some oare pretty much flowing lines,
others are pretty complex. But, unless the piece is really small, say
two inches, by two inches, I don't have problems. The small pieces, you
need to be really, really careful, hold them tight, and go really slow,
or the can get whipped out of your fingers. Best way is a jig to hold
them - time consuming, yes, safe, yes. Even better way is don't make
anything that small on the router table - which is the way I decided to
go.
But, to get back to the "safety pin". OK, I get it's supposed to
do something "safe", but what exactly? As I said, I don't see it doing
anything but hindering me on my table, and my projects. To my mind,
it'd be much safer to just take it out, and leave it out.
JOAT
The highway of fear is the road to defeat.
- Bazooka Joe
JERUSALEM RIDGE http://www.banjer.com/midi/jerridge.mid
That's a fair post, Mike. Always easiest to blame something else. I mean,
geez, it can't be MY fault, can it? ;-) The reason that I went off on
Craftsman is that when I use a screwdriver to tighten something, I figure it
ought to stay tightened for more than, oh, 20 minutes or so.
I like your idea of a lock washer. I'm going to try to find one that
doesn't stand proud of the base of the pin.
Regards,
Joe
"Mike Marlow" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Joe C" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I did have a push stick close at hand, despite doing large scale
template
> > routing at the time. Had it by my left hand which is good, since I'm a
> > lefty, but I would have had to reach over the bit with my left hand and
> the
> > stick to try to pin the thing which was on the (standard) right hand
side
> of
> > the bit.
> >
> > Besides, it all happened much faster than it took to type this ;-)
> >
> > When things go wrong, stop the steel (or carbide) first.
> >
>
> Hey Joe - I sure do not want to play resident expert-after-the-fact, but
> when I read your original post, a thought kept gnawing at me. Not to
> downplay any of the events or the scary nature of getting whacked in the
> chest by a flying projectile, but it seemed to me that the real issue was
> more of periodically checking your equipment - no matter who it's
> manufactured by, than it is a reflection of Craftsman quality. I could
see
> this happening on any table with a screw mount pin like your table has.
> Maybe a lock washer under the pin in the future to make sure vibrations
and
> the movements of the stock against it don't loosen it? Clearly this was a
> fortunate wakeup call, but I really have to wonder if Craftsman is taking
a
> bit more of a hit on this than they deserve. OK - I agree, (to some
> extent...) it's always fair game to hit on Craftsman, but...
> --
>
> -Mike-
> [email protected]
>
>
"patrick conroy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Waiting for TURT pix on ABPW.
> No pressure.
Stand in line Bubba, I been waitin' years to see this one.
Well, Ok, only one year so far...
And Keith - I thought this one was gonna be labelled a "desk" so the acronym
worked?
Greg
Unisaw A100 <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> Bridger:
>>time to build a router table.
>
> Ditto that. By the way, what has been the shortest amount
> of time you've (OK, anyone/everyone) spent making a "usable"
> router table (1)?
>
> Me? About two hours with the GoToHellRouterTable. Most of
> that was preparing the opening for the plate.
>
About the same for my first one. Predrilled Woodpecker plate, $75 imported
fence dragged home from the wood show, half a sheet of melamine, and some
vertical grain doug fir tubasixes. Lotsa help from the neighbor who is
mainly responsible for the disappearance of parking space on my property.
Well worth the time. That '3 1/4 hp' plunge router has no business running
freehand....
Patriarch,
who really ought to come up with names for the tools...
Thu, Jul 29, 2004, 3:09am (EDT+4) patriarch
([email protected]>) says:
About the same for my first one. Predrilled Woodpecker plate, $75
imported fence <snip>
Huh! Mine was probably in the same time range. But, I protably
spent a grand total of about $3, max, on mine, for bolts, washers, and
nuts. The rest is scrap 2X4, and scrap plywood. Works as supposed to.
Bottom of the line Sears (Ryobi) router too. Hehe Been in there
several years now, no prob. Don' got no fence, but if I need one,
that's what clamps and a chunk of 2X4 are for.
JOAT
The highway of fear is the road to defeat.
- Bazooka Joe
JERUSALEM RIDGE http://www.banjer.com/midi/jerridge.mid
I've had two occasions recently where the router bits started coming loose
and rattling around in the router. One in the table and one in a trim
router.
Both times someone else had put them in.
People scare me more than machines.
Rich
> Of all days to be wearing both my heavy leather apron and full face
> lathe-shield, this day was probably the best. The pin rocketed off the
bit
> and, swear to god not making this up, plugs me smack dab in the middle of
my
> chest.
>
> Shakes are going away now, this rant helped a bunch.
>
> Be safe out there kiddies,
>
> Joe
>
>
>
"J T" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
Wed, Jul 28, 2004, 6:49pm (EDT+4) [email protected] (Joe C) says:
But, to get back to the "safety pin". OK, I get it's supposed to
do something "safe", but what exactly? As I said, I don't see it doing
anything but hindering me on my table, and my projects. To my mind,
it'd be much safer to just take it out, and leave it out.
The pin gives you a pivot point to work off of when doing freehand routing.
You butt to the pin and enter the wood into the bit by pivoting it thereby
eliminating kickback and wild, exciting moments.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
Sat, Jul 31, 2004, 12:32am (EDT+4) [email protected]
(Mike=A0Marlow) says:
The pin gives you a pivot point to work off of when doing freehand
routing. You butt to the pin and enter the wood into the bit by pivoting
it thereby eliminating kickback and wild, exciting moments.
"Freehand routing"? That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. =
Tthe OP was doing template routing. So, he screwed up, by haveing
the pin in, in the first place?
JOAT
The highway of fear is the road to defeat.
- Bazooka Joe
JERUSALEM RIDGE http://www.banjer.com/midi/jerridge.mid
"J T" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
Sat, Jul 31, 2004, 12:32am (EDT+4) [email protected]
(Mike Marlow) says:
The pin gives you a pivot point to work off of when doing freehand
routing. You butt to the pin and enter the wood into the bit by pivoting
it thereby eliminating kickback and wild, exciting moments.
"Freehand routing"? That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
Not at all. It's typically done with a bit that has a bearing on it and
you're just guiding the stock without the use of a fence or a miter. Not at
all dangerous if you follow the rules.
Tthe OP was doing template routing. So, he screwed up, by haveing
the pin in, in the first place?
I didn't realize he was doing template routing - my bad. I would not think
you'd need a pin for that, but I don't do template routing so what would I
know?
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
Sat, Jul 31, 2004, 8:49am (EDT+4) [email protected]
(Mike=A0Marlow) says:
Not at all. It's typically done with a bit that has a bearing on it and
you're just guiding the stock without the use of a fence or a miter. Not
at all dangerous if you follow the rules.
Now you're starting to confuse me. To me, "freehand routing" would
mean, no template, or pattern. So, what use would the bearing be? Or,
is your definition of "freehand routing" somethng else?
I didn't realize he was doing template routing - my bad. I would not
think you'd need a pin for that, but I don't do template routing so what
would I know?
As far as I'm concered, having a pin would be a safety hazard.
JOAT
The highway of fear is the road to defeat.
- Bazooka Joe
JERUSALEM RIDGE http://www.banjer.com/midi/jerridge.mid
"Charlie Self" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> JOAT responds:
>
> >
> > Now you're starting to confuse me. To me, "freehand routing" would
> >mean, no template, or pattern. So, what use would the bearing be? Or,
> >is your definition of "freehand routing" somethng else?
>
> I htink it's more encompassing than you express. Freehand routing is done
with
> bearings that have bits, and with bearings without bits, but patterns are
> almost always used...I'd hate to rout someone a sign and not know what
word
> went where as I went along. Much sign routing is done freehand. You do
have to
> keep a good grip on the router, but unless you've got a real mismatch
between
> bit, router power and operator, it's not bad.
>
I may have created confusion by my use of the word "freehand". I was
referring to no pattern, since JT was clearing stating that he does all of
his routing with patterns. I am not however, referring to routing signs and
the like - I'm talking about routing an edge treatment with a router and a
router table without the use of the fence. Typically this would be done
with irregular shaped items. Think of a kidney shaped hunk of wood that you
want to route an edge treatment on. Ideal example of using the pin to pivot
the work piece against to gain proper harmony between the spinning bit and
the raw wood.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
JOAT responds:
>
> Now you're starting to confuse me. To me, "freehand routing" would
>mean, no template, or pattern. So, what use would the bearing be? Or,
>is your definition of "freehand routing" somethng else?
I htink it's more encompassing than you express. Freehand routing is done with
bearings that have bits, and with bearings without bits, but patterns are
almost always used...I'd hate to rout someone a sign and not know what word
went where as I went along. Much sign routing is done freehand. You do have to
keep a good grip on the router, but unless you've got a real mismatch between
bit, router power and operator, it's not bad.
Charlie Self
"Did you know that the White House drug test is multiple choice?" Rush Limbaugh
"J T" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Now you're starting to confuse me. To me, "freehand routing" would
> mean, no template, or pattern. So, what use would the bearing be? Or,
> is your definition of "freehand routing" somethng else?
Confusion is a blissful state to live in, isn't it? Anyway - it's common to
use a bearing to perform certain edge treatments like rounding over or
beveling, champhering, etc. No templates involved, just your router in a
table and your wood. Most times the pin comes into play with irregular
shaped pieces that you can't simply run along a fence. The bearing provides
the tracking along the unrouted (is that a word???) part of the edge, just
as you might expect and the pin provides the leverage point against which to
pivot the piece into the router bit.
> As far as I'm concered, having a pin would be a safety hazard.
Well, if you're pattern routing, it's fairly likely it wouldn't be a safety
hazzard for too long - it would probably succomb to the first pass of the
router...
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
On Fri, 30 Jul 2004 22:09:19 -0400, [email protected] (J T) wrote:
>Sat, Jul 31, 2004, 12:32am (EDT+4) [email protected]
>(Mike Marlow) says:
>The pin gives you a pivot point to work off of when doing freehand
>routing. You butt to the pin and enter the wood into the bit by pivoting
>it thereby eliminating kickback and wild, exciting moments.
>
> "Freehand routing"? That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
>
> Tthe OP was doing template routing. So, he screwed up, by haveing
>the pin in, in the first place?
>
No, you use the pin as a starting lever to rest the template and piece
against while turning the piece into the bit. The starting pin helps
prevent kickback upon initial bit engagement with the wood. Another way to
prevent having the pin come loose would be to use a bit of loc-tite to
prevent the pin from coming loose.
>
>
>JOAT
>The highway of fear is the road to defeat.
>- Bazooka Joe
>JERUSALEM RIDGE http://www.banjer.com/midi/jerridge.mid
On Sat, 31 Jul 2004 05:59:21 -0500, Unisaw A100 <[email protected]>
wrote:
>(1) In reality you would have to be quite tall for a volute
>to make contact with a cutter, swing around and whack you in
>your nuts. But, truth is stranger than fiction and I did
>see an old boss of mine (tallish to the point of being down
>right freaky) do just this. He had to go lay down
>afterwards.
And after reading this I think *I'm* going to have to go lay down for
a while.
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com
Fri, Jul 30, 2004, 10:00pm (EDT-3) [email protected]
(Mark=A0&=A0Juanita) explains:
No, you use the pin as a starting lever to rest the template and piece
against while turning the piece into the bit. The starting pin helps
prevent kickback upon initial bit engagement with the wood. <snip>
Nice theory, I guess. About 99.909% of everything I do on my
router table is template routing. I don't have a "safety pin", and have
never had any kickback problem. I do usually have my work trmmed to
about 1/4" or so from the template, but not always. I do take it easy,
until the bit bearing is riding on the template/pattern.
I just cannot see a "safety pin" being a necessary, or even
desirable, feature for a router table. Sounds more like a sales
gimmick to me.
JOAT
The highway of fear is the road to defeat.
- Bazooka Joe
JERUSALEM RIDGE http://www.banjer.com/midi/jerridge.mid
Unisaw A100 <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
snip, snip
> Many operators of the day liked it when they finished out
> the day without their nuts hurting/aching/not black and
> blue.
>
> You on the other hand, do with your nuts what you will.
>
snipping
>
> UA100, owner and user of a starting pin on his An Ultimate
> Router Table and nice pinkish nuts...
I saw a guy on tv the other day--contortionist, got out of this itty
bitty box that two guys carried onto the stage--do things (well, at
least got himself into position--he coulda put his head into a very
dark place) I thought only my dog could do ...didn't say if he was a
woodworker...
And let's not even talk about freehanding things...;)
Dan
Dan Cullimore responds:
>I saw a guy on tv the other day--contortionist, got out of this itty
>bitty box that two guys carried onto the stage--do things (well, at
>least got himself into position--he coulda put his head into a very
>dark place) I thought only my dog could do ...didn't say if he was a
>woodworker...
>
>And let's not even talk about freehanding things...;)
For the full nitty gritty on contortionists, see if you can find a book called
Circus, by Gary Jennings. Jennings was a helluva writer, and problems
contortionists have and give are a part of this novel.
Charlie Self
"Democracy is a process by which people are free to choose the man who will get
the blame." Laurence J. Peter
"J T" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
Fri, Jul 30, 2004, 10:00pm (EDT-3) [email protected]
(Mark & Juanita) explains:
No, you use the pin as a starting lever to rest the template and piece
against while turning the piece into the bit. The starting pin helps
prevent kickback upon initial bit engagement with the wood. <snip>
Nice theory, I guess. About 99.909% of everything I do on my
router table is template routing. I don't have a "safety pin", and have
never had any kickback problem. I do usually have my work trmmed to
about 1/4" or so from the template, but not always. I do take it easy,
until the bit bearing is riding on the template/pattern.
I just cannot see a "safety pin" being a necessary, or even
desirable, feature for a router table. Sounds more like a sales
gimmick to me.
I think you're missing the explanation. Go to some of the web sites and
take a look at the use of the starting pin. It's no sales gimmick, but if
you're only doing template routing then it would not have a purpose for you.
Others of us use our routers for different types of routing and it can come
in handy. It's not an absolute must, and there are other ways to get the
job done quite often, but it's no sales gimmick.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
Sat, Jul 31, 2004, 8:52am (EDT+4) From: [email protected]
(Mike=A0Marlow) says:
I think you're missing the explanation. <snip>
I already had that part figured out, however it took Charlie, and
UA100, posting, to clear it up. Now I have reasonable knowledge about
what the pin is, it's purpose, how it's used.
We've been talking about two different things. For one thing, I
have been using "template" and "pattern" interchangeably, for what I do.
Then "freehand routing" was tossed in a thread about a router table.
OK, my router lives in my router table. I have no problems with
kickback. No pin needed.
I don't do any version of "freehand routing". No pin needed.
Now that it is clear, yes, a pin would indeed be a highly desirable
safety feature - in certain applications. None of which I do, or even
have plans, hopes, desires, of doing, in this, or any future lifetimes,
that I am aware of.
If, in the unlikely event that, I develop plans, hopes, desires, of
any endeavors where use of a pin would be a happy thing, I will do a
short, intense, search on it's use, before initiating any project
activity.
JOAT
The highway of fear is the road to defeat.
- Bazooka Joe
JERUSALEM RIDGE http://www.banjer.com/midi/jerridge.mid
JT
> I just cannot see a "safety pin" being a necessary, or even
>desirable, feature for a router table. Sounds more like a sales
>gimmick to me.
Actually, the proper name for the pin is a "starter/starting
pin". T'was originally used back in the vintage times on
vintage machines (shapers) when the vintage machines were
run with a free running collar (what we today with a router
would call a ball-bearing bit) and no fence.
It (the pin) would allow for one to feed something like a
volute into the whirring cutters (3"ish and up in diameter)
without the volute coming back and whacking the operator in
his nuts (1)
Many operators of the day liked it when they finished out
the day without their nuts hurting/aching/not black and
blue.
You on the other hand, do with your nuts what you will.
(1) In reality you would have to be quite tall for a volute
to make contact with a cutter, swing around and whack you in
your nuts. But, truth is stranger than fiction and I did
see an old boss of mine (tallish to the point of being down
right freaky) do just this. He had to go lay down
afterwards.
UA100, owner and user of a starting pin on his An Ultimate
Router Table and nice pinkish nuts...
Sat, Jul 31, 2004, 5:59am (EDT-1) [email protected] (Unisaw=A0A100)
says:
<snip> Many operators of the day liked it when they finished out the day
without their nuts hurting/aching/not black and blue.
I would have thought that all of them that missed out on such an
experience would have liked missing out on it. But, on the other hand,
it is a strange world.
You on the other hand, do with your nuts what you will. <snip>
And, I certainly shall not advise anyone of the proceedings, but I
shall endeavor to keep them unchanged in every way.
JOAT
The highway of fear is the road to defeat.
- Bazooka Joe
JERUSALEM RIDGE http://www.banjer.com/midi/jerridge.mid
"Groggy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Stand in line Bubba, I been waitin' years to see this one.
>
You too thinkin' this is like Nessie? Only seen by "special" folks? ;->
On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 18:49:20 GMT, "Joe C" <[email protected]> wrote:
>I needed to do some template routing today for some chair parts. Four legs,
>1" oak, pretty beefy stuff. I got the piece of craftsman router table set
>up, removed the fence, set the "safety" starting pin in the table (this one
>screws in, btw) and proceded to rout the first 3 legs, with no mishaps or
>issues to speak of.
>
>I start the fourth leg, and halfway through, while focusing on the spinning
>carbide (a practice I encourage), I notice that the steel, screw-in "safety"
>starting pin is RATTLING AROUND ON THE TABLE! HOLY JAYSUS! Picking it up
>isn't an option, I'm scared at this point, not stupid.
If'n it was me, I probably would have grabbed a nearby pushstick (you do
those close at hand when using a router table, right?) and trapped the
vibrating pin before it went anywhere and before doing something that might
amplify the vibration. Depending upon the size of the workpiece I was
routing, it might have served as a good blocker to stop the pin from
contacting the bit.
> I slam the off
>switch (the only good feature of this table) and the wind down vibration of
>the router (also a craftsman) is amplified by the wonderfully designed,
>vibration-amplifying sheet steel of the table and the pin goes skittering
>right into the bit.
>
>Of all days to be wearing both my heavy leather apron and full face
>lathe-shield, this day was probably the best. The pin rocketed off the bit
>and, swear to god not making this up, plugs me smack dab in the middle of my
>chest.
>
>Shakes are going away now, this rant helped a bunch.
>
>Be safe out there kiddies,
>
>Joe
>
"patrick conroy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> You too thinkin' this is like Nessie? Only seen by "special" folks? ;->
Aye. Methinks the Dwarves in Khazud Dhum mighta had a hand in it too...'Tho
I did get a pic via the back chunnel
Greg
On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 21:36:04 GMT, Unisaw A100 <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Bridger:
>>time to build a router table.
>
>Ditto that. By the way, what has been the shortest amount
>of time you've (OK, anyone/everyone) spent making a "usable"
>router table (1)?
ok aside from clamping the router inna vise (done plenty) probably 3
or 4 minutes for a one off setup. plenty of 15 minute ones. after that
it kinda gets messy, 'cause some of the parts get reused.
>
>Me? About two hours with the GoToHellRouterTable. Most of
>that was preparing the opening for the plate.
>
>>a big one. heavy. no vibration. 2, mebbe 3 layers of MDF. laminate
>>top.
>
>Would one weighing a hunnert and eighty pounds be considered
>"over kill"?
>
>>maybe a new router while you're at it.
>
>A'yup. Candy ass routers, good for free hand routing signs
>but not much more.
>
>(1) Clamping a 690 in a vise doesn't count. Had/has to
>have a top. Beyond that...
>
>UA100, AURT maker...
"Joe C" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I did have a push stick close at hand, despite doing large scale template
> routing at the time. Had it by my left hand which is good, since I'm a
> lefty, but I would have had to reach over the bit with my left hand and
the
> stick to try to pin the thing which was on the (standard) right hand side
of
> the bit.
>
> Besides, it all happened much faster than it took to type this ;-)
>
> When things go wrong, stop the steel (or carbide) first.
>
Hey Joe - I sure do not want to play resident expert-after-the-fact, but
when I read your original post, a thought kept gnawing at me. Not to
downplay any of the events or the scary nature of getting whacked in the
chest by a flying projectile, but it seemed to me that the real issue was
more of periodically checking your equipment - no matter who it's
manufactured by, than it is a reflection of Craftsman quality. I could see
this happening on any table with a screw mount pin like your table has.
Maybe a lock washer under the pin in the future to make sure vibrations and
the movements of the stock against it don't loosen it? Clearly this was a
fortunate wakeup call, but I really have to wonder if Craftsman is taking a
bit more of a hit on this than they deserve. OK - I agree, (to some
extent...) it's always fair game to hit on Craftsman, but...
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
Bridger:
>time to build a router table.
Ditto that. By the way, what has been the shortest amount
of time you've (OK, anyone/everyone) spent making a "usable"
router table (1)?
Me? About two hours with the GoToHellRouterTable. Most of
that was preparing the opening for the plate.
>a big one. heavy. no vibration. 2, mebbe 3 layers of MDF. laminate
>top.
Would one weighing a hunnert and eighty pounds be considered
"over kill"?
>maybe a new router while you're at it.
A'yup. Candy ass routers, good for free hand routing signs
but not much more.
(1) Clamping a 690 in a vise doesn't count. Had/has to
have a top. Beyond that...
UA100, AURT maker...
"Joe C" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
> carbide (a practice I encourage), I notice that the steel, screw-in
"safety"
> starting pin is RATTLING AROUND ON THE TABLE! HOLY JAYSUS! Picking it up
My Rousseau starting pin doesn't stay in either, in my (now, or soon to be)
penultimate router table either.
"Unisaw A100" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> UA100, AURT maker...
Waiting for TURT pix on ABPW.
No pressure.
On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 18:49:20 GMT, "Joe C" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>I needed to do some template routing today for some chair parts. Four legs,
>1" oak, pretty beefy stuff. I got the piece of craftsman router table set
>up, removed the fence, set the "safety" starting pin in the table (this one
>screws in, btw) and proceded to rout the first 3 legs, with no mishaps or
>issues to speak of.
>
>I start the fourth leg, and halfway through, while focusing on the spinning
>carbide (a practice I encourage), I notice that the steel, screw-in "safety"
>starting pin is RATTLING AROUND ON THE TABLE! HOLY JAYSUS! Picking it up
>isn't an option, I'm scared at this point, not stupid. I slam the off
>switch (the only good feature of this table) and the wind down vibration of
>the router (also a craftsman) is amplified by the wonderfully designed,
>vibration-amplifying sheet steel of the table and the pin goes skittering
>right into the bit.
>
>Of all days to be wearing both my heavy leather apron and full face
>lathe-shield, this day was probably the best. The pin rocketed off the bit
>and, swear to god not making this up, plugs me smack dab in the middle of my
>chest.
>
>Shakes are going away now, this rant helped a bunch.
>
>Be safe out there kiddies,
>
>Joe
>
time to build a router table.
a big one. heavy. no vibration. 2, mebbe 3 layers of MDF. laminate
top.
maybe a new router while you're at it.
I did have a push stick close at hand, despite doing large scale template
routing at the time. Had it by my left hand which is good, since I'm a
lefty, but I would have had to reach over the bit with my left hand and the
stick to try to pin the thing which was on the (standard) right hand side of
the bit.
Besides, it all happened much faster than it took to type this ;-)
When things go wrong, stop the steel (or carbide) first.
Joe
"Mark & Juanita" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 18:49:20 GMT, "Joe C" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >I needed to do some template routing today for some chair parts. Four
legs,
> >1" oak, pretty beefy stuff. I got the piece of craftsman router table
set
> >up, removed the fence, set the "safety" starting pin in the table (this
one
> >screws in, btw) and proceded to rout the first 3 legs, with no mishaps or
> >issues to speak of.
> >
> >I start the fourth leg, and halfway through, while focusing on the
spinning
> >carbide (a practice I encourage), I notice that the steel, screw-in
"safety"
> >starting pin is RATTLING AROUND ON THE TABLE! HOLY JAYSUS! Picking it
up
> >isn't an option, I'm scared at this point, not stupid.
>
> If'n it was me, I probably would have grabbed a nearby pushstick (you do
> those close at hand when using a router table, right?) and trapped the
> vibrating pin before it went anywhere and before doing something that
might
> amplify the vibration. Depending upon the size of the workpiece I was
> routing, it might have served as a good blocker to stop the pin from
> contacting the bit.
>
> > I slam the off
> >switch (the only good feature of this table) and the wind down vibration
of
> >the router (also a craftsman) is amplified by the wonderfully designed,
> >vibration-amplifying sheet steel of the table and the pin goes skittering
> >right into the bit.
> >
> >Of all days to be wearing both my heavy leather apron and full face
> >lathe-shield, this day was probably the best. The pin rocketed off the
bit
> >and, swear to god not making this up, plugs me smack dab in the middle of
my
> >chest.
> >
> >Shakes are going away now, this rant helped a bunch.
> >
> >Be safe out there kiddies,
> >
> >Joe
> >
>